Tuesday Open Thread ~ No Signs of Intelligent Life


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Frank Zappa once remarked that stupidity has a longer shelf life than pretty much anything else in the universe. As we head into what looks like a super spreader holiday with reckless people doing reckless things, I'd have to agree with him. In what has to be one of the strangest "Thanksgiving" messages I've ever had to write, I can only bring myself to focus on what I can do. Which is stay home.

So, for the upcoming holiday, I plan to do a little cooking, watch some movies, and lounge around in my pajamas all day. Hope you all will be doing something equally cozy and safe this Thanksgiving holiday.

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The Cooking

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Netflix & Chill

Even if you know nothing about chess, The Queens Gambit is compelling viewing all on its own. Beginning with a mysterious automobile accident which suddenly orphans Beth Harmon at the age of 8 years old, she is sent to a religious institution in the 1940's for young girls where she learns how to play chess from the janitor of the orphanage. As was the practice back then when institutions used to give children drugs to keep them calm, we are both horrified and fascinated as we watch Beth "play" chess in her mind by lying drugged in bed imagining chess pieces on the ceiling. When she comes of age and sneaks up on the unsuspecting male chess tournament circuit, the chess strategies she executes are perhaps some of the most satisfying competitive encounters I've seen on film. Flawed, damaged, brilliant, fascinating, it is almost impossible not to root for this character. With a marvelous cast including Anya Taylor-Joy playing the magnetic Beth Harmon, this series is thrilling to watch from beginning to end.

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Your Moment of Zen...

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Well, that about wraps things up for this week's edition.
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What’s on your mind today?
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for foodies like myself, always enjoy looking into new recipes.
Love me some 'shrooms. Thanks for the link to all things mushroomy!

Just made a beef stew with all the requisite root veggies last night.
Plus big old mushrooms. Yumm.

Our local library is sponsoring a holiday sweet recipe consolidation
in lieu of our normal monthly cookbook club gathering
(cancelled this year because of covid).

Here is mine...

https://natashaskitchen.com/apple-cinnamon-slab-pie/

Zen and the art of cooking. Easy and good.

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Anja Geitz's picture

@QMS

What a brilliant idea using puff pastry instead of the traditional pie crust. This looks wonderful and easy to do. Will bookmark this recipe and definitely try it myself! Thanks Smile

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There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

enhydra lutris's picture

@QMS

found a version of that - identical, I think, but different kitchen and made it and it ws great for two of us for several desserts (we tried to keep them small). I then modified it and it was arguably better:

Modifications: 1) Chop the apples 2) when heating in butter, add a goodly splash or two of Amaretto and let it cook down 3) only use a 1/2 inch margin for the egg wash

be well and have a good one

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

@enhydra lutris

figured out the other two, but the Amaretto sounds like a winner!
Also chopped nuts gives it an 'a cappella' slant. Prefer walnettos.

thanks

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Anja Geitz's picture

@enhydra lutris

Nice addition! The almond flavor with the tart apples is perfect!

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There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

Dawn's Meta's picture

but no markets, because - Lockdown. In the Pacific NW we used to hunt them around Mt. St. Helens and came home with buckets. We cooked fresh with bacon pieces, sour cream and minced onions with black Pepper. Then pickled and stored the rest. So so good.

I am truly surprised to be up on The Queen's Gambit, as we are deliberately delayed on most new movies, series and assorted other Netflix and Prime Video content. Watched to the end of the first series. Totally agree. Well done. Quirky in a good way. And left me wondering if there are any women who have approached high end chess playing. More Wiki to explore.

Thank you for your frequent columns and focus on food. Now that I finally have almost a kitchen after many years and (mis)adventures, which I call Homesteading in France, we are cooking big stews, soups, and meals. Invested in a chest freezer, so we can put extras by.

A working kitchen is a huge gift/asset. For this I am thankful and so is mr. meta.

We along with our builders, have all had recent tests because a nanny came into builder's family with it. We all are considered quarantined. Our builder and son have it. Sooooo, more delays. Trying to figure out where I can put a tree and outdoor lights. After three years without Christmas, I'll be hanged if we miss this one.

Still line drying clothes: it takes two days with a frozen night in between. But they come out great.

Staying in the vicinity, but we are allowed to walk our Tekel. So we meander our stream; throw sticks in the river/stream; and I try to ground and walk into the water with our short legged one if I can take the cold. Our two foundling kittens are growing by leaps and bounds. They need testing for FiV. If all is good, they get their first shots and names.

So four guys and me. Going to try for a Turkey hind quarter, James Beard's dressing, and other usual sides for our first Thanksgiving in several years. No pumpkin in a can, but good squash to make a pie. Usually find NW Cranberries. Surprise! Turkey is Christmas dinner in France. They all think we mean Christmas when we talk about Thanksgiving.

Thanks again, for your thoughtful columns, poetry and visuals. And for letting me stream some of our life here.

Take care.

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A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit. Allegedly Greek, but more possibly fairly modern quote.

Consider helping by donating using the button in the upper left hand corner. Thank you.

Anja Geitz's picture

@Dawn's Meta

When I used to eat pasta, I’d make a mushroom sauce with sour cream that I poured over fettuccine. While this mushroom dish didn’t come close to the beautiful ravioli ai funghi Sophia Simoni used to make for Trattoria Simoni, it was still pretty delicious.

Having a good kitchen space to cook in makes all the difference. After years of trying to cook in a cramped NYC kitchen, I blossomed as a cook when I moved to California and actually had the room to make the dishes I love. So, yes, I definitely agree and hope your kitchen is finished very soon!

Competitive female chess players. I wondered the same thing as you about what stories there are out there of female chess players. Although if the competitive chess circuit as portrayed in the movie is an accurate depiction of how things were in the 1950’s, it isn’t difficult to imagine how female players not as head strong as Beth Harmon’s character might’ve wilted under the scrutiny. Which begs the question; how much have things changed since then to encourage young girls to play chess?

Thanks for giving us a little snapshot of your life in France. I hope you find a Christmas tree this year too!

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There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

Granma's picture

@Anja Geitz are part of after school activities for middle school kids, at least as far back as 12 years ago. As many girls as boys seemed to participate. My knowledge is limited to picking grandchildren up at school after chess club and seeing other kids coming out.

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Anja Geitz's picture

@Granma

Jennifer Shahade, and author of the book Chess Bitch: Women in the Ultimate Intellectual Sport, was recently interviewed about the movie and the exposure to chess especially for girls. While she did comment that chess clubs in school made the game more accessible to everyone, in the upper echelons of competitive chess, it’s still very much a mans world. Still, her words are encouraging for young girls who have the skill and the tenacity:

Chess is an equalizer when you play. You’re not as aware of traditional boundaries and hierarchies. I think that’s one of my favorite things about it. I remember as a kid, sometimes I’d play against littler kids, and sometimes I would play against grown-ups, [but] it was like we were all on the same playing field. And I think that’s such a valuable skill for people—to not be intimidated and also to not feel better than anyone else.

With the rise in social media use and mental health issues with teen girls, I also think that the idea that you can kind of completely lose yourself in chess [is beneficial]. You’re certainly not going to be worried about any social media accounts at that point because you’re totally absorbed in the game.

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There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

enhydra lutris's picture

@Dawn's Meta

And left me wondering if there are any women who have approached high end chess playing.

There is a separate Women's Chess Championship that has been around for ages, I once met a top contender (#2 iirc). They can also compete with the men, or, more correctly, in "open competition" and many do.

be well and have a good one

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

Lookout's picture

We loved Queen's Gambit. I saw but didn't read a piece from a real competitive chess player suggesting fakery...but hey its fictional TV what do you expect?

Also love 'shrooms' We get to harvest some wild ones after rains.
IMG_7036_0.jpg

Agree with the sour cream addition to most types. I've been using sour cream as a mayo substitute of late...out of laziness for the most part, but sure is tasty!

We're staying home for the holiday too. I'm smoking a turkey (with a Boston butt on the top rack to baste the turkey below as it smokes...a twofer).

Hope you all have a good and safe holiday!

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

Anja Geitz's picture

@Lookout

Being able to just go outside and pick wild mushrooms. What a pretty picture they make! What do you plan to do with them?

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There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

Lookout's picture

@Anja Geitz

onion and garlic, and freeze pint to half pint servings for use through the year. Perfect side with most meats.

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

Anja Geitz's picture

@Lookout

They go well on zoodles too Smile

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There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

Anja Geitz's picture

@Lookout

None other than Garry Kasparov and Bruce Pandolfini. The first needs no introduction for anyone familiar with chess’ greatest champions, the second is a celebrated chess coach who advised the author of the book the series was based on. So, I think it’s probably safe to say that the chess playing was pretty accurate.

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There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

@Anja Geitz

now I'm going to stuff the bird with mushrooms, chess pieces and sour cream!
Forget the dirty rice this year. Going full intellectual. Now the quandary...
light or dark pawns and bishops, red or white whine? Oh, the choices!

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@Lookout

y'alls so clever!

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Dawn's Meta's picture

@Lookout I just don't have the knowledge yet of where they are. When the weekly markets are running, it's no problem to get them and the inky small Girolles. I can smell them when I'm walking in a Fir forest. We used to find the odd group of white Chanterelles. A cause for celebration with my Latvian friends who taught me everything I know about hunting mushrooms.

We used to hunt Japanese Pine Mushrooms (Matsutaki). You really could smell them more than see them. It got too dangerous to go after them, as the prices went sky high and determined sellers would stake out their ground. Not the kind of folks to mess with.

The Japanese who cooked them with us, had uses for every portion of the mushroom. We had one meal with steamed custard of the stems. Very good and interesting to watch.

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A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit. Allegedly Greek, but more possibly fairly modern quote.

Consider helping by donating using the button in the upper left hand corner. Thank you.

Jen's picture

Hi Anja. I believe there are more people going to stay home this year than usually do. The only evidence I have is that all the Festive frozen turkey loaves with gravy are sold out. I bet most of you are thinking, "eww", but both my kids love it. Last year I was able to buy it the day before. This year it was gone yesterday when I went looking. But they had all kinds of huge whole turkeys. So, I figure that the people that usually go somewhere and have someone else do the cooking are going to stay home and do the cooking themselves and don't want to cook a big ass turkey.

So, my daughter and I decided to wait and have turkey one day next week when the stores stock back up.

I hope everyone has a good day on Thursday no matter what you have to eat. I am thankful for the only good thing that came from this year - my beautiful granddaughter.

I also watched The Queen's Gambit and loved it. I didn't know if I would or not but I decided to try it anyway. I was hooked after the first episode.

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Is it great yet?

Anja Geitz's picture

@Jen @Jen

And I’ll bet a lot of people who are cooking at home who don’t usually do the cooking, like you said, are not going for the large turkey.

Funny story. When I lived in New York and would typically stay there for thanksgiving instead of flying home to California, I would often get invited by friends to spend thanksgiving with their family. For someone who grew up in a house with a father who was a chef, I never imagined there were people in the world eating badly cooked thanksgiving dinners. I would soon be disabused of that idea when thanksgiving after thanksgiving I would endure the worst possible cooked meals. A meal btw, that’s ambitious even for a seasoned cook, but really should not be attempted by someone who is not a cook. I remember one thanksgiving meal where the gravy came out of a bottle and the peas were canned. For thanksgiving I thought? My Mother would never believe this when I told her. And indeed she didn’t. But I will say this for the bottled gravy and canned peas thanksgiving dinner, what we lost in an appetizing meal, we gained in some spirited card playing and the drinking of some pretty good port afterwards. Fun family. And all in all I had a very lovely time even if I had to stop off on my way home for Chinese food.

Btw, how old is little bit these days?

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There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

Jen's picture

@Anja Geitz She will be 9 months old on the 29th. She has grown so much. She was almost 16 lbs when she went to the doctor last month. I figure she's 17 or 18 lbs by now. She's such a happy baby, smiles all the time. Her hair is so long on top she'll have to have it in a ponytail soon just to keep it out of her eyes.
I can't figure out how to post a picture again even though I've done it before, so I'll just share the link.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/7xxsTMMSWZx68v9n6

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Anja Geitz's picture

@Jen

Thanks for sharing G’ma. She’s beautiful...

7C0599C0-6DAD-4485-9606-230D17695DCD.jpeg
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There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

Granma's picture

@Anja Geitz

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lotlizard's picture

in the board game Go among kids in Japan and elsewhere.

http://infogalactic.com/info/Hikaru_no_Go

(in reference to audience reception of The Queen’s Gambit)

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Anja Geitz's picture

@lotlizard

After having a friendly conversation with a guy who owned the liquor store in my neighborhood. What struck me as surprising when I found out what he was doing was not that he was getting together with the owner of my neighborhood liquor store and playing Go, it was the fact that I had been going to that same liquor store for the last ten years and never had a conversation with the owner beyond “hello”.

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There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

enhydra lutris's picture

copying and saving some of those mushroom recipes, thanks ever so much. I don't think I will follow too many perfectly, but they serve as the backbone for creations to make. congee, soba, hot and sour are definitely on the list for the near future.

An interesting aside is the braised chicken broth soup thing. Something I haven't done in a while - poach a whole damn chicken. Use at least one breast to make banh mi, strip the carcass and use for many things, save and augment the stock for other things.

Here is a link to a great article in the SF Chron via SFgate: https://www.sfgate.com/recipes/article/Poaching-chicken-works-for-all-seasons-3177069.php#ixzz1VsO5kgB1

It consists of a master recipe (poaching a 5# chicken as per author's family tradition) and a few derivative sub-recipes which are uses for the poached chicken and/or poaching liquid. You get a lot of good meals ouf of one chicken. I used to do this about once a month or every other month, but one eventually tires of poached chicken.

be well and have a good one

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

Anja Geitz's picture

@enhydra lutris

Would you be surprised to hear I thought about you when I posted the mushroom recipe? Was thinking of braising them with some red wine, garlic and onions, and then slapping them into a freshly made tomato sauce.

This:

I don't think I will follow too many perfectly, but they serve as the backbone for creations to make.

Is pretty much how I approach most recipes.

Poached chicken sounds very similar to something I do in the crock pot when I make chicken soup. Which you’ve reminded me I haven’t done in a while and now have a hankering to do!

Thanks!

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There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

Granma's picture

All the cooking people here do. But I'm a much lazier cook and can't imagine going to so much effort for just one meal item. But I'm probably weird. I enjoy fresh veggies of all sorts, but usually eat them plain, literally just as they are after cooked, with perhaps a little salt.

I can turn out a pretty good Thanksgiving dinner, done properly, certainly no canned gravy or peas. Not a chef's delight, but well cooked and seasoned.

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@Granma

going to lighten-up this year, as it's just us 2 chipmunks here.
spatchcock a local organic chicken on the grill (save the drippings
for a gravy); roasted acorn squash stuffed with quinoa, oven broiled asperagus
with garlic oil and a fresh dark rye bread. Dessert will be a 5 berry pie from a local
baker (I can't do pies very well). Some wine and several phone calls in between.
Probably a fire in the wood stove, as it is forecast to be rainy and windy.
Also have a borsht for starters, fresh roasted beets. No TV, just calming music.
Hope yours is enjoyable!

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Anja Geitz's picture

@Granma

Which is why when I do, I make several servings and freeze the leftovers for later. But I’m always in the mood to eat well so leftovers come in handy. I dunno, I always seem happiest when I’m pairing different herbs, spices and flavor combinations together. So maybe that’s the creative angle.

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There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

travelerxxx's picture

Canned veggies? Check.
Frozen turkey breast? Check.
Gravy from the can? Check.

Why, you wonder?

We have always prepared a tremendous feast for Thanksgiving. Usually, we start cooking at least a week in advance; some things get prepared - and then frozen - further in advance of even that. Pies, galore. The house is generally full of family to the point of overflowing. Every spare chair, TV tray, table, etc. is brought out. Even then people often have to take turns for a seat. All the counters in the kitchen will have serving dishes on them, and folks come help themselves - smorgasbord style. Leftovers are packed up and sent home with our guests.

This year, none of this will happen here. Reason?
1) COVID.
2) Wife is on a very restricted, medically-supervised ketosis diet.
3) Some family have been holed up since the pandemic began and don't intend to stop.

We certainly respect those who feel they need to stay barricaded in their homes due to the virus. That's their choice. Others are out and about. One of our daughters and her family have left their home only to vote since February. Kids are doing online education. Another daughter and her family are attending school, going to work, etc. Others are doing a mixture of each. None of these people are willing to risk the possibility of exposing my wife or me to the virus as we are in a fairly high risk category. We do appreciate that. What all this means is that no one is going to be coming to the house for the holiday. It will be my wife and myself and a grey cat.

The menu reflects this. There's no sense in a whole turkey, hours and hours of food prep for the various sides, etc. So, our menu is bare bones. We're fine with it. In a way, it's kind of a break.

While my wife is on her restricted food plan, she is allowed to occasionally deviate with real people food. (Much of her intake is hospital-provided mixed stuff.) So, one thing she can have is a small amount of very lean meat (read, turkey breast), and certain non-starchy veggies. As far as she's concerned, she's really looking forward to four-to-six ounces of that turkey breast. A treat, actually!

Probably needs to be mentioned that my wife is attempting to get her BMI down to a level acceptable for surgeons to replace a very bad hip. She can only get around with a walker, and that certainly precludes her from kitchen duties. That makes yours truly the head chef, head janitor, head ...well, everything. While I'm okay in the kitchen, my dear wife is the Pro from Dover. I can't hold a candle to her abilities there. So, I'm content to back off.

***

By the way, here in the South, I have had to re-learn how to properly pronounce the word "Thanksgiving." Everywhere else I've lived, the word is spoken with the accent on the second syllable, "giving." Nope. At least not in southern Louisiana and Texas. The accent is on the first syllable, "thanks." So, rather than "ThanksGIVING," it's "THANKSgiving." The southern usage almost seems more appropriate to me.

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Anja Geitz's picture

@travelerxxx

And her surgery. Abbreviated menu makes sense. I will refrain from making any comments about in the bottle gravy. I’m sure if you add enough butter it’ll taste, er, ok. Oops! That just slipped out.

So what is Holly getting for dinner?

Ziggy will be getting fresh cooked salmon because why the hell not, eh?

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There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

travelerxxx's picture

@Anja Geitz

Well, like I mentioned, it's kind of a relief in a way. Generally, we're throwing together a bash for around 20 people ...sometimes even more. That's a lot of work. Sooooo, we get a break plus we don't get unnecessary exposure to airborne nasties.

I'm really good at gravy, but this time it's going to be Campbells. We're bumming it all the way.

We will miss seeing everyone, of course. That's the downside. I've been out-and-about somewhat, but not my wife. She hasn't seen her kids or her grandchildren since February, short of Zoom-type chats. It's not quite the same. I have, because I'm the delivery guy, etc.

Holly would usually love to have sardines in oil, but lately she's been in love with some comercial pouch-type stew/soup thingies. It will make her day to have a few of those rather than the same old stuff. So, she will probably get to splurge more that the humans!

Ziggy will be one contented feline after that salmon!

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Granma's picture

@travelerxxx you won't be too tired to enjoy the meal either.
I was the holiday hostess and cook for many years so I well remember the work involved. Your food will taste good to you and that is what matters.

I'll keep your wife in my thoughts. I hope it all goes well for her and for you.

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travelerxxx's picture

@Granma

I appreciate the kind thoughts for my wife (from Anja too, if you're reading). She has a ways to go before the doctors will accept her. She's making great progress, however. She's lost as much in two months on her current ketosis plan as she did in the prior year doing standard-type dieting. Also, she's done this before ...and it works. She's probably looking at another six months or so before they will agree to work on that hip.

Yes, we're kind of laughing about our cheap-o Thanksgiving menu. It's the total opposite of what usually happens here. We'll be fine and, yes, not so tired afterwards. The head kitchen clean-up guy (me) is looking forward to not having to spend hours at the sink while everyone else is kicking back after a big meal. LOL!

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